This invention relates generally to inflatable restraint systems for passenger vehicles and, more particularly, to a device for attaching an air bag to an inflator.
Many vehicles have inflatable restraint systems which utilize an inflator which is attached to an air bag and to a vehicle support in the steering column, for the driver side air bag, and in an instrument panel recess, for the passenger side air bag.
In one system for the driver side air bag, the inflator includes mounting holes (e.g. 4) for attachment to a base plate which has a plurality of (e.g. 12) spaced mounting holes. The air bag has an internal cuff having a like number of mating holes. A retainer ring, having a like number of corresponding mounting holes is mounted inwardly of the air bag. The ring clamps the air bag cuff to the inflator base plate and to the inflator by rivets extending through the corresponding mounting holes. Such an arrangement is labor intensive and time consuming in that it requires alignment of the holes in all three elements and multiple riveting operations.
In another system, such as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,988,119 to Hartmeyer, the retaining ring is sewn to the air bag and is provided with apertured headed studs in place of the mounting apertures. The retainer ring is attached to the air bag by pressing the stud heads through the air bag mounting apertures. In some embodiments, integral locking tabs are folded back over the stud heads to lock the ring to the air bag.
Further assembly to the inflator is accomplished by extending the studs through the base plate apertures and riveting through the aligned apertures. This arrangement eliminates the necessity of aligning three sets of mounting holes, but still requires a multiplicity of rivets.
It would be desirable to provide a means for assembling an air bag to an inflator that is simpler, less labor intensive and, consequently, less expensive, while assuring integrity of the assembly.